Trinity #18Review

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Finally an exciting new direction for DC's weekly series.

By Dan Phillips

The second act of Trinity begins this week, and I'm happy to report that DC's weekly series is infinitely more interesting than it has ever been. To put it bluntly, I'd go so far as to say that for the first time since it began, this series feels relatively fresh, exciting and original. And it's not just because the entirely overdrawn first act is out of the way, and writers Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza are apparently through beating us over the head with clumsy reminders of why Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are a Trinity (at least for now). It's because they've managed to introduce a genuinely intriguing new status quo, and in doing so, have finally pushed this series into unknown territory.

I don't want to say too much about this new status quo, because a lot of the fun of this issue comes from trying to discover it for yourself while you read. Suffice it to say that the results of last issue's showdown between the Big Three and their evil counterparts had some serious ramifications for New Earth, and the results aren't anywhere as predictable as you'd expect from the familiar "a crisis changes the Multiverse" set-up. There's something truly strange about this new reality, and the way it's morphed some familiar faces in certain ways is a lot of fun to behold.

But as much as I hate to say it, seeing how entertaining I found certain aspects of this issue, some of the series' inherent flaws still remain. For one, I can't help but feel like this new status quo is just a temporary, glorified Elseworlds tale, and that the series is once again simply spinning its wheels until the next inevitable confrontation. That doesn't change that fact that this material is a lot fun, but it's difficult not to remember how the first act ate up pages and issues before it actually progressed the story in a meaningful way.

Secondly, I still can't get over the arbitrary form of each of this series' installments. It seems like in trying to figure out a way for Nicieza to contribute to each issue, the minds behind Trinity committed the cardinal sin of storytelling - they let the form dictate their story, as oppose to their story dictating its form. Even when they do pick up on the action from the main feature, these back-up tales remain unwelcome tangents. It's been the case in nearly every issue so far, and its once again the case in this week's installment. No matter how well Nicieza and his artistic collaborators craft their backups, I'd still rather read next week's main feature.

But enough with those same old (but still important) critiques. Trinity finally feels like something we haven't seen a hundred times before. For at least the time being, the book feels like it'll keep us on our toes and put forth some cool new ideas and story beats. And for that, I'm thankful.

Trinity [2008] #18

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman no more! The heroic Trinity have met their fates at the hands of their villainous counterparts in the Troika. Now the Earth trembles helplessly in the hands of the villainous group while Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman's accomplishments are being forgotten!